a new bedtime routine

We were finding that our bedtime routine was, to be honest, not working so well.The kids were getting "wound up" when
they were supposed to be getting ready for bed and "winding down". Once they were finally into bed they would chat for
far too long until my husband or I were forced to come in and remind them that they were meant to be
sleeping. It made for a very stressful end to the day for me and I didn't want
"Go to sleep!" to be the last words they heard from us before they eventually drifted off to dreamland.

Then I thought about going back to our old routine of
reading a bedtime story. Now that the kids can both read on their own we
found that we were slowly getting out of the habit of us reading to them at
night. I think the routine of cozying up under a quilt with Mum or Dad and having a story
read at bedtime relaxes children, quiets their minds and prepares them for
a more restful sleep.We often have short "discussions" about the story as I read aloud and occassionally
I'll ask them a question related to the story to get them thinking about what
we have just read about. It's not a time to necessarily learn something new, but to just enjoy a thoughtful story.

Now if you know my kids, then you know that no book brought into our home goes unread! Large bags of library books are quickly devoured on a regular basis, so this posed a slight problem when it came to
finding something new to read!

We decided that a secret library trip by Mum was
the solution, and the books are hidden away until I select one at bedtime.
So far this new routine is working very nicely (I think the mystery of not knowing what we're
going to read adds to the fun) and we have discovered several new
books that we have all enjoyed. I wrote about one here. I thought I would periodically list a few of our favourite new books here in case you
are in need of some new titles for your eager readers too!

4 comments:

We like chapter books for bed time. We love the Reg Down books and the Little House books, always good for a 2nd read too. Also Old Mother West Wind & Beatrix Potter stories. The last 2 are favs that we go back to again and again.

I have heard of the Tiptoes Lightly books but haven't found any around here, I'll look at the Waldorf School that we visit for Mayfest to see if they carry them. I have put Old Mother West Wind on hold at our Library. I love the Beatrix Potter books too!Thanks for the recommendations Becca!~ joey ~

Bedtime stories are a tradition in our house; and even now that the kids are older they still ask :) We started a short routine of turning off the lights, lighting a candle or lamp and drinking a small (so there aren't multitudes of nighttime bathroom trips!) cup of warm tea, often chamomile. When we go for story time the lights stay low-- maybe a hall light or lamp on instead of the one overhead in the room. That bedtime routine isn't so consistent, it takes more forethought, we go in spurts. But when we do manage, for us, it's really an enjoyable way to end the evening.

Welcome kiku!I'm so glad that you posted a comment. I enjoy reading about how others create a calm bedtime routine for their children. We're still not "there" yet with our routine, so we may try adding a warm drink before bed!Thanks for your encouragement,~ joey ~